Growth and Change
by Imaginationqueen87
Summary: A shocking turn of events has Yumi living at Kadic academy with the rest of her team but there is no time for self pity when her roommate keeps acting so strange. What is going on? k (rated for later chapters/safety)
1. chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own Code Lyoko

**Growth and Change**

Yumi groaned as she stretched her back. The last Xana attack had been brutal and all she wanted to do was curl up in bed. She got close to her house and noticed a strange smell in the air, emergency vehicles everywhere and an eerie red glow in the evening sky. She got closer and the horror of what she saw dropped her to her knees. Her home was engulfed in flames. Her parents and brother stood outside with the emergency personnel.

"No…" tears fell unchecked down her face as she watched the fire rage on.

Hiroki looked back and noticed her.

"Mama… look"

"Yumi…"

They had been trying to reach her to tell her to stay at the school but her phone had somehow died. To at least spare her the horror of witnessing this, they hadn't been able to protect Hiroki as he had been with then at a dentist appointment when it started so he had been with them when they discovered it.

Yumi barely registered her mother's embrace.

"_It will be okay_" her mother whispered to her in Japanese.

"_No, mama, how can it be okay? we have lost everything!_"

Anything else her parents said was lost on her as she sobbed.

Hiroki was holding it together. He had his fit earlier, he wasn't sure what they would do but he trusted his parents.

A sedan pulled up and Jean-Pierre Delmas got out. When he had gotten the phone call that the Ishiyama house had burned he had gotten to work making phone calls and securing the funds to give Yumi and Hiroki room and board for free if they would need it.

"Mr. Delmas… what are you doing here?"

"I came as soon as I heard, Mr. Ishiyama." He said "I wanted to let you know I made some calls and I have secured the option of allowing Yumi and Hiroki to board at the school at no charge to you. I am sure the aid workers have told you that there are clothes and other necessities waiting for you to look through."

"Thank you, one of my coworkers said we could live with him but it is too far for them to walk to school and…"

"I have everything ready… they will both have roommates their own age."

They got some things and returned to the school. Hiroki seemed unsure about boarding, but he was okay when he realized his roommate was a friend of his.

Yumi rubbed her arms nervously. She didn't have many friends in her own grade so she had no idea who she could be rooming with. She said goodbye to her parents and went to her room to see her roommate reading a book with Japanese writing on the front. So he had been told her roommate's name was Bianca Kobayashi so the fact that she knew Japanese shouldn't have been as surprising as it was.

"Hi" she said awkwardly.

"Oh… oh I'm so sorry." A round face peeked out of the book.

Bianca stood and Yumi figured she was about the same height as Odd.

"Welcome… I heard what happened. I'm really sorry, if you need anything just let me know."

Yumi noticed Bianca had the same phone she did.

"Can I borrow your charger?"

"Of course, mine is fully charged."

Yumi plugged her phone in and sat on her new bed.

Bianca watched as Yumi sat awkwardly on the bed. She felt terrible for her, she couldn't imagine what it must feel like to have lost everything but it seemed she couldn't find the words to express her feelings.

"Do you need to work on homework or… want to grab a shower? I usually shower at night, you're more likely to have hot water. Mr. Delmas said they're working on upgrading the water heater to one of those tankless ones that give unlimited hot water but I'll believe it when I see it."

"Shower sounds good… but I didn't get any soap or shampoo."

"You can borrow mine."

"Thanks."

The shower felt good and Yumi was glad she had gotten such a generous roommate.

They returned to the room and Yumi was glad she hadn't run into Aelita or Sissy on the way. Aelita would be worried and she was in no mood for a verbal jousting match with Sissy.

They started on homework and Bianca groaned.

"Tomorrow is Wednesday, right?"

"Yeah… why?"

"I have tutoring tomorrow evening."

"Okay."

~*~

Meanwhile Ulrich was begging Jeremy to run a return to the past in the hope they could somehow save Yumi's house.

"It wasn't Xana… a return to the past will only mean she watches it burn again." Jeremy pointed out logically. "I know that you hate that she's going through this but there isn't anything we can do."

"From what I heard her new roommate Bianca Kobayashi. She's in Yumi's class so I don't know anything about her." Jeremy sighed

"Yeah… I guess you're right… Bianca is pretty cool from what I've seen. She's on the girls' soccer team."

"Okay… hopefully we can keep our secret."

~*~

The next day was uneventful and Yumi decided living on campus wasn't too bad. Doing her research project was going to be easy with the campus library so easy to access. She was just finishing up her paper on Bianca's computer (that she was told she could borrow) when Bianca came in from her tutoring. Instantly Yumi realized something was horribly wrong with Bianca. She seemed upset, her face was puffy and tearstained. She face planted into her bed.

"Are you okay?" Yumi asked though if someone asked her why she asked in Japanese she wouldn't have been able to answer them.

"I don't want to talk about it." She replied as she rolled over with her back to Yumi. "Shut down the computer when you're done."

Bianca didn't say anything else after that.

Yumi watched as Bianca seemingly fell asleep. She was worried about her. Something happened to her, usually, from what she had seen, Bianca was a rather cheerful person. She printed her work, shut the computer down and went to bed. She vaguely heard Bianca rummaging through her belongings and leave, she assumed to take a shower. She would have to keep an eye on Bianca, but she had a bad feeling she wasn't going to like what she found.

To Be Continued…


	2. Chapter 2

Yumi sighed as she entered her math class and sighed. She didn't like this teacher, Geoffrey Dubois, there was something about the way he looked at her that made her extremely uncomfortable but she couldn't put her finger on why. She noticed that it seemed to be just her, well until she started paying attention to Bianca and noted he looked at her the same way. That was when she realized how predatory that look was and wondered if Jean-Pierre Delmas had seen that look yet and if he had why he hadn't done anything about him.

~*~

Math class couldn't end fast enough. Yumi was one of the first out the door and nearly ran into Ulrich in her mad dash to get out of there.

"Yumi… are you okay?"

"Yeah…sorry Mr. Dubois just gives me the creeps." Yumi explained.

"How is dorm life treating you?" he asked as the walked down the hall together.

"Not too bad… I'm worried about Bianca though"

"Why?"

"She had tutorials with Mr. Dubois yesterday evening and when she came into our room afterwards she was acting really weird… she looked like she had been crying but she wouldn't talk to me about it."

Ulrich rolled the possibilities around in his mind and none sounded pleasant as a matter of fact they started at bad and only got worse.

"Could she have just broke up with a boyfriend or something?"

"I doubt it, but I guess its possible" Yumi didn't think that was what had happened but didn't want to rule it out either.

Yumi wasn't sure if she should ask Bianca about that or not. She decided against it for the moment if it happened again after the Friday session she would say something.

~*~

"Have you picked a partner for the science project?" Bianca asked as they sat together in the bedroom in their pajamas that night. They were speaking in Japanese because Bianca wanted to practice because she felt her spoken Japanese was getting rusty with nobody else around that could converse with her in that language.

"No… why?"

"I… thought we might work together. It would make it easier to work on together since we share a room and all."

"True." Yumi admitted with a shrug.

That Friday Bianca came back from tutorials in just as bad a condition as she had that Wednesday but when Yumi asked her if she was okay she got the same answer which troubled Yumi greatly.

~*~

This went on for the next couple of weeks with Xana being extremely quiet. Yumi couldn't figure out how to broach the topic with Bianca so she just kept a silent eye on the situation until a Tuesday a month after she moved in with Bianca. They had been in a rush to get to class and it was only when Yumi went to check her text messages for Xana alerts when she realized she had the wrong phone.

She knew she shouldn't pry into Bianca's private business but she was worried about her. Yumi went into the text log and noticed a conversation between Bianca and a G. Dubois and she had a bad feeling that was their math teacher.

"I can't do this anymore. I… I hate how I feel when it's over. Yumi isn't as clueless as my last roommate." Bianca "She is going to figure it out."

"If you can't keep our secret you know what will happen." Mystery man.

"Please just stop it's been three months. Isn't that long enough?" Bianca.

"It will be long enough when I say it has been long enough" mystery man.

Yumi was horrified as she continued to read. What trouble was Bianca in?

~*~

Meanwhile: Bianca was shocked when she got a text from a Jeremy. She then realized this must be Yumi's phone. She was at the meeting spot before she realizes the text wasn't for her.

"You're Bianca aren't you?"

Introductions were fast and it was only due to the trust Yumi said she had in her that she was read into the team's secrets.

They arrived and virtualized immediately. Bianca's outfit consisted of a tight, short skirt/shorts combo in black with pink trim and a wrap sports bra in black and pink with black fingerless mixed martial arts style gloves and black and pink hi-tops. Her punches worked well to destroy things she could punch and her punches sent out energy to damage what she couldn't get close to.

The Xana attack was thwarted and after the return to the past she and Yumi switched phones with Bianca unaware that Yumi knew anything.

Yumi sat down with Ulrich and he could tell something was bothering her.

"What's wrong Yumi?" he asked.

"Bianca and I have the exact same phone… and as you know we got our phones mixed up thus she showed up for the Xana attack. I… I kind of spied into her text messages and… and I think Mr. Dubois is blackmailing her."

"Because of what?"

"I don't know." She sighed "I don't know what to do either… I mean I know what I did was wrong but… I'm scared for her."

"You just have to wait until she decides to tell you… but if it's that bad don't expect that to come any time soon."

"She's terrified… I wish I could help her."

Yumi wrung her hands. She hated feeling helpless with a passion and she felt extremely helpless at that moment.

~*~

Bianca sat looking at Yumi's bed she had come so close to telling her last roommate what was going on but she didn't. Now she was faced with that dilemma again; could she trust Yumi not to tell anyone? Yumi had proven she was an excellent secret keeper and she trusted Yumi more than her last roommate.

"I wish I knew if telling her was the right thing." She thought aloud.

**To Be Continued… **


	3. chapter 3

(a/n: if it hasn't become obvious by this time any dialogue like _this_ is spoken Japanese)

Yumi had been shocked when she learned the team had welcomed Bianca into the fold, but the longer they knew her the more she realized that was a good idea. She also began to really enjoy living on campus.

"So Yumi, do you really like living here?" Jeremy asked as they all sat around his room. It was Friday so Bianca wouldn't be around until later, if she came at all. Usually on her tutoring days she didn't come hang out with them after she was done.

"I miss my parents but… at the same time I like living here." Yumi replied. "Its…"

She was cut off by her phone ringing, it was Bianca.

"Hello… Bianca what's wrong?... Our room… okay… calm down I'll be right there."

Jeremy, Ulrich, Aelita and Odd were all on pins and needles waiting to find out what was going on.

"What's going on?" Ulrich asked.

"I don't know. She sounded extremely upset."

"Go take care of this, Yumi" Ulrich said. "Remind her we're all here for her."

"I will."

Yumi arrived in her room to see Bianca curled up in the corner crying.

"Bianca…"

"Yumi… "

"_What's wrong? Start at the beginning_."

"_Remember when that science lab was messed up when someone kicked a soccer ball through the window. I kicked that ball… Mr. Dubois saw it. He told me that if Principal Delmas found out I would lose my scholarship and… and the only…_" she sniffled "_the only way he would keep it a secret is…"_

Yumi was quickly putting two and two together to come to the horrifying conclusion this was leading to. She hugged her roommate as her heart broke for her.

Bianca explained to Yumi that her tutoring sessions weren't really tutoring but a ruse to hide that he was forcing her into an inappropriate relationship with him.

"You need to tell Principal Delmas… he will put a stop to it."

"Yumi, what if he is right? I can't afford to lose this scholarship!"

Yumi hugged her. This was a difficult situation and she had no idea what to do to help. She never wished for a Xana attack but today she would have given nearly anything for an attack so she could vent her frustration on his monsters.

"Please… don't tell anyone!" she begged.

"I won't… I promise."

~*~

Meanwhile

Ulrich looked between Odd and Jeremy once the door closed behind Yumi.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." He sighed.

"Do you have any idea what that could be about?" Jeremy asked Ulrich.

"Yumi told me some things that she found out that she really wasn't supposed to know and I think this has something to do with that."

"What did she find out." Odd asked.

Aelita was listening quietly from her seat on Jeremy's bed not sure what was going on or what to think of this situation.

"If I tell you guys this you have to promise me you won't let Yumi know I told you."

All three promised.

"The other day Yumi and Bianca accidentally grabbed each others' phones. That is why Bianca showed up to fight Xana when you messaged Yumi." Ulrich sighed still not sure he should be telling this. "Yumi looked into Bianca's text messages after noticing an odd message from a G. Dubois. She found a very frightening conversation there. It looked like Bianca was being blackmailed by Mr. Dubois for reasons we don't know. I think Bianca is telling her about that."

Jeremy looked stunned, Odd didn't look much better and Aelita need to know what blackmail was before she understood what was going on and became almost as shocked as the rest.

"That… that doesn't make any sense. What could he possibly have on her?" Jeremy asked.

"I don't know and I'm pretty sure even if Yumi finds out she won't tell us." Ulrich gave a sigh.

"Hopefully Yumi can help her."

~*~

Yumi sighed as she was walking down the sidewalk not fully paying attention to where she was going. She gasped when she nearly ran into Mr. Delmas.

"Yumi… what is wrong, child?" he asked.

"I have a lot on my mind." She sighed.

"What is it Yumi… perhaps I can help."

Yumi looked away.

"I… I'm just stuck in a bad spot… I promised a friend I would keep a secret but… but I'm afraid if I sit on this secret like I told them I would they would only get hurt worse. I'm also afraid of losing their trust if I say anything."

Jean-Pierre sighed, the scenario Yumi described was as close to a no win scenario as he had ever heard. Perhaps this friend would eventually forgive if it turned her fortunes around.

"I really don't know how I can help you in this situation without knowing the secret but Yumi I know you well enough to know you have extremely good instincts… trust them."

She nodded, that didn't help but given the circumstances it was the best she could get.

~*~

She got back to her dorm that evening to see Bianca sitting with a package. Her smile was wide.

"What is that?"

"Care package from my uncle in Japan." She grinned wider if that were possible. "Its usually full of candy we can't get here."

Yumi's eyes went wide. Japanese candy was something she got so rarely as to say she never got any and she knew it was good.

She opened the box and Yumi couldn't help look inside. The relatively unassuming box was jammed full of snacks and candies, some she was familiar with, others not so much. The Baby Star Ramen at the top was something she had heard of but not tried. There were several little packs of it so she assumed Bianca was quite fond of the stuff.

"What is this?"

"You… you've never had Baby Star Ramen?" Bianca seemed shocked. "Here… I'll open one for us to share"

She opened the small package and held it out for Yumi to sample.

"_That is good_."

They snacked on the fried ramen while they went through the contents of the box.

Yumi stopped at a package of grape Hi-Chews.

"_Grape flavor in Japan is unlike anywhere else on Earth_." Bianca smiled "_and I love it_"

They stopped and looked at each other in confusion when Bianca pulled out a giftwrapped box with Yumi's name.

"_I told my uncle about you but… I didn't expect this."_

_"Where does he live?"_

_"Sapporo… he and my dad grew up in a small village not too far from there." _Bianca explained handing the gift to Yumi.

Yumi opened the package and Bianca gasped.

"_Hokkaido melon cake…"_ Yumi read in confusion.

"_Those are so delicious!"_

Bianca didn't tell Yumi that the particular brand her uncle sent was one of the more high end and expensive ones. It wasn't the most expensive but it wasn't the Hokkaido Melon Cake Bianca got on summer trips to Sapporo with her parents and siblings either.

Next time you talk to him thank him for me.

"_Taste it first then thanks. Trust me they are amazing."_

Yumi was shocked at the texture and taste of the cake.

"_These are good."_ Yumi admitted.

The evening was fun but it only postponed Yumi's facing her concerns. She knew eventually she would have to decide what to do she was just glad that day hadn't arrived yet.

To Be Continued…


	4. Chapter 4

Bianca stepped into her room a month after unloading everything to Yumi. It felt so different to have someone in on her secret horror. She had just left his office and she felt so dirty.

Yumi hugged her tightly as she sobbed. She had been stunned that she had been able to keep her parents in the dark on the issue this long but not seeing her parents on a day to day basis helped her keep her secret.

Yumi wanted to insist she go to Delmas with what was happening. She was certain that no matter what the initial incident had been he would believe that she didn't deserve what she had gone through the past couple of months. She wanted to say this but she said nothing, just held her tightly.

~*~

It took until that Wednesday for Yumi to gather the courage to do what had to be done. She had decided she had to tell, let the cards fall where they may. She couldn't watch Bianca go through this anymore. Her parents had noticed she was conflicted about something she wouldn't talk about and discovered they could only hope she would see fit to tell them what was wrong.

~*~

Jean-Piere looked up as his office door opened just enough for a stand shut.

"Yumi, what's wrong, dear?" he asked at seeing the tension in her form and fear in her expression.

"I… I'm terrified I'm about to cost myself a friend but… but I can't do this anymore I… I can't watch her get hurt anymore."

"Yumi… my God… what are you talking about?" he asked walking over to her.

"Bianca… she… she told me she caused the damage in the science lab… but that… that is trivial compared to the hell she has been going through since."

Jean-Piere guided Yumi to sit and she told him everything Bianca had told her and watched as his face hardened in rage.

"I don't understand… I thought I made it clear we understood it was an accident and the punishment would be minimal."

"He was already in her head at that point and had her convinced that was a lie to get her to come forward." Yumi said suddenly finding her shoes extremely interesting.

"I will speak with her… she doesn't need to go through this anymore." He said "If you see her before I do please send her my way and assure her she is in no trouble."

It was clear that he was livid but then Yumi could understand that entirely. He was principal but he had no idea that a student was going through that kind of hell right under his nose.

She left and looked at her phone to find out that Jeremy had messaged her before her meeting with Mr. Delmas to tell her Xana was attacking.

She got to the factory and her phone rang, it was Bianca.

"Hello… what… Bianca calm down… what happened… he did WHAT?"

Yumi got downstairs as Aelita started to deactivate the tower. Ulrich and Jeremy were at the computer.

"Don't return to the past yet!"

"Why…" Ulrich asked.

"Is there a way to exclude someone in our gang from remembering the return?"

"Um… yeah… why?" Jeremy asked in confusion.

"We need to exclude Bianca!" Yumi replied her expression tense with worry.

"What happened?" Ulrich asked.

"I don't have time to go into details but while I was in the office telling Mr. Delmas what Mr. Dubois was doing… was doing to Bianca he… please don't tell her I said anything" Yumi wasn't stuttering so much as completely winded from running to the factory then deciding the elevator was taking too long and using the ladder.

"Okay we promise… what was he doing?"

"He…" tears squeezed their way out of Yumi's eyes. "He raped her!"

Ulrich's expression hardened in rage and Jeremy gasped in horror.

"Hopefully I can talk her into going to Mr. Delmas now that I know she won't get into trouble."

The return finished and Yumi grabbed Bianca before she went to Mr. Dubois's office.

"You have to come with me."

"Yumi…"

"Bianca you don't have to do this… go tell Mr. Delmas he will put a stop to it."

"How do you know?"

"Before I tell you what I did I owe you a huge apology we had a return to the past earlier and before that I talked to him about your situation and he assured me you wouldn't be in trouble and he would protect you."

Bianca looked hurt for a moment.

"Why can't I remember the return?"

"Because then you would remember that before the return… before the return Mr. Dubois raped you."

Bianca gasped then agreed to go with Yumi. She had been terrified that he would do that eventually. It was only a matter of time before it happened.

They arrived at Mr. Delmas' office and Bianca was shaking with terror.

"Bianca… Yumi… what brings you girls here?" he asked then noticed Bianca's fear.

"Bianca, sit down." He told her.

He noticed Yumi whisper something to her in Japanese before she finally sat down. He figured it was some sort of reassurance in their other shared tongue.

Bianca was wringing her hands nervously when she finally began to speak.

Jean-Pierre was horrified as she described in vivid detail the horrors of the past three months of her life. Inappropriate touches, kisses and the fear of losing everything if she didn't comply with these demands.

"Bianca… this… dear God… I wish you had told me of this before. I can understand why you didn't but… I am appalled by his behavior in this situation. Your crime was trivial, it was an accident your presence in the school was never in any danger."

Yumi left the room as the police were called. She figured at this point they would call her if they needed her.

She turned the corner towards the sewer entrance that lead to the factory when suddenly she found herself pinned to a tree by the throat.

To Be Continued…


	5. Chapter 5

Geoffrey Dubois was confused when he realized that Bianca was late and furious when he heard the sirens and realized what had happened. She told someone everything. That was the only explanation he could come up with. She told someone and they called the cops. He slipped out of his office and down the corridor, silently. They would come for him and he had to hide.

He started towards the tree line and, to his surprise, he sees Bianca's roommate, Yumi, headed that way. Geoffrey figured she had something to do with Bianca's sudden decision to tell, probably Jean Pierre Delmas, everything. He growled with rage and went on the attack.

~*~

Yumi gasped as her air supply was suddenly cut off.

"Why did you have to get involved?" she recognized the voice as Geoffrey Dubois. "Everything is ruined now because of you."

Yumi struggled and fought as she tried to get the air her lungs demanded. Her nails dug into the skin of his arms and vision began to narrow. Her struggles began weaken as the seconds ticked away and what oxygen had been in her lungs was used up.

The next events were a blur as the air rushed back into her lungs and she collapsed into a heap on the ground. She vaguely registered another person standing over her and a familiar voice that her oxygen starved brain couldn't place before the darkness dragged her under.

~*~

Yumi awoke an unknown amount of time later in a hospital bed. Her parents and another couple standing around the room. Her groan drew their attention

"Yumi…"

Her mom was at her side in seconds.

"Don't speak… you were strangled and… and the police think it was because you convinced Bianca to confess to Mr. Delmas what she did and tell him what Mr. Dubois was doing to her." Her mom said.

"Yumi we… we can't thank you enough for helping our daughter find the courage to speak up about what was happening to her so we can get her the help she needs." Bianca's father, Ichiro, said.

"It was no problem… she is my friend… and I… I always take care of my friends." She could barely speak but she felt she had to say that to them.

Bianca entered the room trying not to draw attention to herself too quickly.

"Is she okay?" she asked.

"She will be." Yumi's father replied as Yumi couldn't really speak.

"Thank God… I… I don't think I could live with myself if… if she died because of me."

"A boy by the name of Ulrich Stern intervened to save her." Bianca's mother, Eloise said.

"Ulrich… he's our friend. He's a little younger than Yumi and me." Bianca explained. "He's a great friend too…"

Bianca noticed the smile on her mother's face as she described Ulrich as being another friend. She hadn't had friends until Yumi came into her life apparently bringing in Ulrich as well and perhaps more friends for her.

"The police arrested Geoffrey Dubois on several counts of indecency with a minor and pedophilia, one count assault with a deadly weapon after he slashed at Ulrich with a knife and attempted murder for trying to strangle Yumi." Her father, explained.

"The school is under a media firestorm right now." Yumi's father stated "Parents are demanding answers. They want to know how nobody figured out that there was a pedophile working at the school."

"Bianca none of this is your fault if anything if you hadn't stepped forward God only knows what he would have done." Her mother assured her. "We don't know how many others he has done this to who never found the courage you did… the courage to step up and say 'no more'"

"I wouldn't have either if it weren't for Yumi." She admitted sheepishly "She convinced me to come forward and sat with me while I talked to Mr. Delmas about what happened. Before that she was the only one I talked to about it."

~*~

Time passed and Bianca started therapy to try to learn to cope and move on from what she went through. It also took a while for her to find a way to deal with the guilt brought on by what happened to Yumi.

"Bianca you know what he did wasn't your fault." Yumi reminded her on the way to the cafeteria for lunch one day two weeks after everything came to light.

"I know… I know…" Bianca sighed looking at her hands. "I just can't believe I let it get so far."

"He had you convinced you were powerless… but you aren't… you know that now."

"True… thank you for showing me that."

"Anytime."

**The End**


End file.
